Afraid

Ch. 9 - Never socialize sober

Hi ! Very excited for this chapter and it's a long one so hope you all enjoy. Thanks for reading!

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Violet

Eleanor is once again digging through my closet. This time, looking for a 'cute' outfit for me to wear to the party. Her words.
She had already changed into a corset-like hot pink blouse, I also forgot I owned. I have a bit of an online shopping problem. And yet, only use about a quarter of my wardrobe, mostly consisting of workout clothes and sweatshirts. Hence, why she's choosing my outfit right now. She was practically offended when I suggested wearing a hoodie.

So here I am, tired and freshly showered, laying in bed, holding an ice pack to my jaw as I cuddle close to Olive, wishing for sleep. But of course, El has different plans for me.

"Here it is! Ok, put this on!", Eleanor exclaims, finally coming out of the closet. She tosses me a red see-through long sleeve blouse that ties together at the front with billowy sleeves, a lacy black bralette, and high waisted mom jeans.

I glare at the clothes and huff, exasperated, "Can I at least wear my converse?"

She hums quietly, thinking about it, "Fine". She then retreats to the bathroom to finish with her hair and make up.

I still make no moves to get up. Instead, I hold Olive closer, and start complaining to her about how much I don't want to go, begging for her to get me out of this somehow. But Olive just stares back, her big baby eyes, wide and confused, as she starts licking my nose, thinking that'll solve my problems. And to her defense, it is always a cute distraction. So I take all the love I can get before she goes back to ignoring me.

I'm half asleep by the time El walks out of the bathroom and sees that I'm still in bed, "Seriously?"

I yawn, "The baby's on me. I can't move now". Those are the rules. She knows this.

She laughs, rolling her eyes, "C'mon! It's almost 10pm. I want to get there soon".

I check the time on my phone, "It's 9:30pm!"

"Exactly and I'd like us to be there by 10pm". El responds, seemingly already finished getting ready. Her usually straight hair coming down in slight waves, framing her face, with an added touch of a cat eye effect to her usual make up routine.

I glare at her and start grumbling insults under my breath, childishly. But eventually get up, wincing slightly in the process. I grab the clothes she picked out and go to the closet to change. I then go to the bathroom to quickly make my hair presentable, letting the waves air dry and complete my skin care routine, leaving my face bare for the most part. Nothing was gonna hide the bruise on my jaw and at this point I didn't really give a shit. At least the red top is useful in disguising the bruises already forming on my abdomen, for the most part.

"Alright, I'm ready", I announce, exiting the restroom.

"You look great!", She jumps out of bed, scaring Olive in the process.

"Let's get this over with", I grumble, grabbing my keys.

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"I thought you said this was a party", I glance at El then back at the very quiet house, unimpressed. Is there even anyone in there? The place looks deserted. There's only one car in the driveway and not many around parked in the street. I mean we got great parking and that's not exactly something that inspires confidence when it comes to the quality of a party.